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“Let’s go get your gift,” Nan Qiao said.
“Thank you, Uncle,” Xiao Zhi said gratefully.
Nan Qiao was even happier as he carried Zhang Zhilin away.
Wang Jinhe was very angry at Gu Jing and the others for their actions. “Why did you do that? Would telling Xiao Zhi about your pregnancy and his new siblings make you lose face? He’s already sensitive, and you didn’t give him any mental preparation before taking him to see your son. How do you expect him to accept it?”
“We were worried that he wouldn’t accept it,” Gu Jing said after a long silence.
Wang Jinhe chuckled in exasperation. “Worried that he wouldn’t accept it? So you bring a three-month-old child back suddenly, and then you expect Xiao Zhi to accept it?”
What kind of bizarre thinking was this?
“Bringing a child who is over three months old back suddenly, did you also tell him that he should take good care of his little brother, and that he should be considerate because his brother is still young?” Wang Jinhe asked Gu Jing.
Gu Jing awkwardly nodded, “We thought that as the older brother, he should take care of the younger one since he’s still little…”
Wang Jinhe chuckled in exasperation, “Is ‘he’s still little’ an excuse? Don’t forget that Xiao Zhi is also a six or seven-year-old child. He and your son are both experiencing this for the first time. Why should he have to give in?”
“I didn’t mean it that way, Jinhe…”
“Then what did you mean? Xiao Zhi was very happy when he found out about my pregnancy. He even asked me when he could have a little brother or sister. He was looking forward to having his own sibling. But how did you treat him? You made him give in to his brother as soon as they met. You made him take care of his brother. Are you lacking hands or feet? Do you need a seven-year-old child to help you take care of your son?” Wang Jinhe was genuinely angry.
Gu Jing and the others were in the wrong. It would have been fine if they had openly discussed the pregnancy, but they kept it from Xiao Zhi. Then, as soon as they returned, they made such demands without giving Xiao Zhi any time to accept the situation.
“Now you’re making Xiao Zhi take care of him and give in to him. Will you also expect Xiao Zhi to pave the way for your son in the future?” Xiao Zhi had met many people while being with them, and as Su Yu’s adopted son, his future prospects were limitless.
Gu Jing looked somewhat embarrassed. She did have such thoughts, especially since Xiao Zhi had a good relationship with Su Yu, had learned a lot from him, and had met many people. She felt that Zhang Zhilin, as the older brother, should help his younger brother.
Gu Jing felt very guilty towards Xiao Zhi. Over the past two years, the guilt had diminished significantly while the child was not around. Especially this year, with her pregnancy, her thoughts were focused on the child in her womb.
When she saw Xiao Zhi, he seemed no different from any other child, and she thought he had completely recovered. But when Xiao Zhi saw the younger son and she mentioned that he should take care of him and be taken away, the dead silence in his eyes seemed to take her back to over two years ago. At that time, Xiao Zhi had looked at them in the same way.
Then Xiao Zhi ran away, and they had no choice but to follow him.
Now, hearing Wang Jinhe’s questioning, Gu Jing felt embarrassed. It was as if the dirt in her heart had been exposed by Wang Jinhe.
“Jinhe, I…”
“After you got pregnant, your thoughts were all focused on this child, right? No wonder you hardly wrote to us this past year. Every time, it was only after Xiao Zhi wrote to you that you replied. At first, I thought you were just too busy, but now it seems that you were indeed busy, just busy with the child in your womb. Since Zhang Zhilin came to our home, he has never suffered such grievances. I felt really sorry for Xiao Zhi when I saw him earlier,” Wang Jinhe said.
Zhang Qin felt somewhat embarrassed by Wang Jinhe’s words. Indeed, over the past year, they had not actively written to the child. Each time, it was only after Xiao Zhi sent a letter that they replied.
Luo Yan looked at the couple with disdain, feeling repulsed.
With a slight movement of her finger, Wang Jinhe caught a faint scent of flowers.
“You can’t blame us. It’s his own problem that has persisted for so long, with his condition fluctuating. Is it wrong for us to want a completely healthy child?” Gu Jing said calmly to Wang Jinhe.
“You don’t know how well-behaved my son is. He is so obedient, completely different from Xiao Zhi. People’s hearts are biased. He is not close to us now. Is it wrong for us to favor our son?”
“He is the older brother. What’s wrong with us asking him to take care of his younger brother and build connections for him? What kind of future can he have with his current behavior?”
As Gu Jing spoke, Zhang Qin did not refute her words. Zhang Zhilin’s presence seemed to be a testament to their incompetence.
Zhang Qin’s silence and Gu Jing’s words completely infuriated Su Yu. He slammed the cup in his hand heavily on the ground, startling Gu Jing. Su Yu spoke as if he hadn’t noticed, “I’ll give you two options.”
“First, I will share my connections with you for three years. During this time, you will achieve whatever you can based on your own abilities. If you choose this, Xiao Zhi will be my son from now on, and our godparent relationship will be terminated,” Su Yu said.
“Second, you can choose Xiao Zhi, but from today, I will not interfere in any of your affairs. Your son should not appear before us, and Xiao Zhi should not pave any paths for him,” he continued.
“It’s your choice.”
Su Yu was well aware that if Zhang Zhilin left with the couple, their efforts over the past two years would be in vain, and Zhang Zhilin would be completely ruined by them.
Zhang Qin frowned, “Xiao Zhi is our son.”
Su Yu looked at Zhang Qin sarcastically, “When she said those things, you didn’t refute her at all. You also think the same, don’t you? You think Xiao Zhi is a lunatic who could go crazy at any moment, and you consider him a stain on your reputation? Now that you have a son, you’re eager to squeeze out the last bit of value from Xiao Zhi?”
“I don’t,” Zhang Qin weakly refuted.
“I don’t need you to tell me. You know it yourself,” Su Yu said.
“Since you want to squeeze out the last bit of value from Xiao Zhi, fine. He’s here for you to choose,” Su Yu said. “Luo Yan, bring Xiao Zhi over.”
Luo Yan nodded and went to find Nan Qiao.
When he approached, he saw the child sitting there with vacant eyes, a slight furrow on his brow, and a hollow look in his eyes.
This sight worried Luo Yan.
Standing next to Zhang Zhilin, Luo Yan instinctively lowered his voice, “Brother Yu asked me to take you over.”
Xiao Bao held Zhang Zhilin’s hand, “Brother, I’ll go with you.”
“Okay.”
When Gu Jing approached Zhang Zhilin, wanting to hug him, he avoided her.
“You asked me to give up my relationship with Godfather to help him, but I’m telling you now that I don’t agree. Why should I give in to him? He’s my godfather, why should I give my godfather to him?” Zhang Zhilin looked at Gu Jing with red eyes.